Men’s Basketball Outpaced by Division I Western Illinois

Men’s Basketball Outpaced by Division I Western Illinois

MACOMB, Ill. – Despite trailing by only 13 points at half, the size and speed of Western Illinois proved to be too much for the Panthers as they fell 84-49 in Western Hall on Tuesday.

In the defeat, sophomore guard Alex Mumphard shared game-high scoring honors with 19 points for the Panthers. He hit 7-of-9 field goals, including four from beyond the arc. As a unit Greenville only shot 26% from the floor for the game and turned the ball over 17 times to the superior WI opposition.

Greenville (2-2) kept it close early when senior Markeith Brown's free throws at the 13:34 mark made it a three-point Western lead at 13-10, but using their considerable size advantage the Leathernecks went on a 7-0 run to begin to pull away.

Greenville cut it to seven on K.J. Hilliard's free throws, but key defensive stretch by Western held the Panthers to just three points over an eight-minute timeline.The WI lead grew to as many as 18 before Greenville cut it to 39-26 at the break.

The second frame is where the size advantage of Western Illinois became too much for the battling GC squad. Western dominated the boards, 54-30 with 20 coming on the offensive end and serving the Leathernecks costly second chance points. The height advantage also helped Western to a 62-10 edge in points in the paint. Greenville eventually surrendered a 13-2 run that set up the final 84-49 margin.

GC men’s basketball will next hit the court Wednesday, November 30 as they again go on the road and face conference foe Eureka at 8:00 pm.